Only Wish
by Ariel32
Summary: He had been alone for so long that he never noticed she was there. But when you have never known anything else, it's easy to imagine that you have everything.
1. Chapter 1

I seem to have trouble sticking with the stories I've started...

* * *

_-Beast_

They called me the Beast.

Oh, how I hated that name.

"Have you heard the tale of Beauty and the Beast?" they'd say. "Oh, you must have heard it. It's a wonderful story."

They think, in their silly, irritating, foolish way that they know all they need to know about the story. They think they know everything. The tale of Beauty and the Beast: a beautiful girl who falls in love with a man, and saves him from a life of darkness. The end.

But they didn't know the prologue.

Nor did they know the epilogue.

And how can you have a story if you don't know what happened before and after? What do you have if you only have the middle?

They tried, oh yes, they tried. They made up beginnings and endings. They even came up with two phrases to discourage any questions about the before and the after of the story. They start with "once upon a time" and ended with "happily ever after".

To them, to those normal people, that was all they needed. They had their story.

And I had mine.

* * *

My mother was beautiful. She had pale, smooth skin and a full mouth. Her eyes were blue. Her hair was blacker than night.

I never saw my mother. Except for the day I was born, I never even laid eyes on her. After she gave birth to me, she handed me off to a midwife. Then she disappeared. They never found her.

I knew what my mother looked like because of what others told me. The described her eyes, bluer than the sky, bluer than the sea. They described her hair, black and wavy, smooth and silky, thick and dark. They told me how she sang to birds.

They told me more than I wanted to know about my mother. They told me nothing about my father.

I had my mother's black hair. But my eyes weren't blue.

* * *

I was not a "beast", as they called me. I was never a beast. People spoke of how I was eaten up by darkness. I was savage and unmerciful. I did things for my own reasons. I'd lived in darkness for so long that I'd forgotten what light was like.

They were wrong, those people. I was not brutal, the way they told of me in the stories. I did not live in darkness. I was not full of anger and hate.

I was alone. I stood alone. Alone I had been since my mother had left me. Alone I would remain for the rest of my life. I was cold, I was like ice. My life was nothing to me. To live was the same as not living at all.

When she left, my mother took part of me away with her. What was left of me was nothing. As a child, I did not speak. I did not feel. People avoided my eyes. They were not afraid of me; they simply did not understand me. To them, I was unfathomable.

What makes a person human? Is it how they look, whether they have hands and feet, whether they walk upright or not? Or is it their abilities, whether they are intelligent, whether they are capable of speech? Whether or not they can feel?

If you can't define a human, then how can you define a beast?


	2. Chapter 2

I just wasn't happy with the second chapter, so I rewrote it a little and added some stuff on...better or worse?

Claimer: Fairy tales belong to whoever invented them. This story belongs to me.

* * *

_- Beauty_

Three years ago, when mother died, I got in a huge fight with Addie. I wasn't really mad at her. I was just mad at the world.

You can't push your anger away. You can't ignore it. I ran out of the village and into the forest. I kept running. I didn't want to stop.

By the time dawn came, I didn't even know where I was.

When you've lived your whole life in a forest, like I have, you learn to trust your instincts. I found my way back to our village, though it took me the rest of the day. And while I was coming back, I discovered a special place at the edge of the secret valley that Raine and I used to play in.

It was a small ledge which dropped away on one side to overlook our valley. From there, you could see out over the valley and the rest of the forest all the way to our village, the hills and trees rising gently into the distance.

That day, I stood on the ledge and looked out over the forest. The trees were spread out beneath me, a beautiful sight. Morning mist still curled over the treetops. I could just see our village, tucked away at the edge of the woods.

And that's when I realized how fragile we were.

I'd never seen it before. To me, our village had always been small, yes, but strong. We'd survived many seasons and we knew the ways of the wilderness better than anyone. But standing there that day, I looked out over the forest, and saw how small and insignificant our village really was. I couldn't make out the houses, not from so far away, but I could make out tiny blurred shapes. I saw that day how delicate our village was surrounded by the powerful wilderness. Further to the north lay civilization – I could just make out where the forest ended. And there we were, caught between two worlds.

I learned something that day, though I didn't consciously realize it until much later. I learned that everyone had a place they belonged to, and that this was mine. Small though our village was, I was part of it, and that was where I fit in. With all the rest of my village, my family, there we were, a tiny speck on two horizons.

* * *

- _Beast_

The first and last question I asked about my mother happened when I was seven. I'd heard my share of things from the rest of the townspeople – praises of my mother's sweet voice and gentle nature, not to mention her beauty and grace. Because of this, I'd had no desire to ask about my mother before this.

I had never asked anyone about my mother before; everyone had always told me more than I wanted to know. Jonsha was one of the people who had never told me anything. When I asked her what my mother had been like, she looked at me expressionlessly.

"People have told you lots about your mother," she said. "Why ask me? You've heard more than you want, and if you want to know more, there are plenty of others who'll tell you more."

"You know things that others don't know about. And you're the only one who would tell the truth."

Jonsha laughed. "The people here may be fools, but even fools may stumble on the truth, if only by accident."

I waited. I knew she would say something.

She did speak, though she didn't look up at me again. "I don't know why your mother left. I doubt there's anyone who does. If you want to look for her, no one will stop you, though you may find more than you bargain for."

"I don't want to look for a person who abandoned me."

Jonsha's face was expressionless. "There are some who would search their entire lives for a mother that left them. But you're never like the others."

* * *

_- Beauty_

It's spring. Finally. The sheet of snow that's been lying on the ground, blanketing everything in white, is gone, replaced by light green buds. It's probably the prettiest sight I have ever seen.

I stood outside in front of the house and spun a dagger in my hands. The sharp blade flashed in the light. Addie passed me, shooting me a look as she came by.

"Stop playing and get to work."

I let go of the dagger. "I am working," I shot back.

Addie snorted. "On what?" She disappeared into the house.

I hate winter. We live in a village near the edge of a forest, and during the winter, all the animals go into hiding. The trees are bare and the ground is frozen. Winter is a desolate place in the forest. Spring is when everything turns green again.

Addie stuck her head out the window. She's my sister, older by two years. To her, age means authority. To me, age means next to nothing.

"Come in here and help me," she called.

I slid my dagger away. Mother had gotten it for me a long time ago, when I was seven. I'd learned how to spin it without dropping it or hurting myself by the time I was eight.

"I'm going hunting," I said.

Addie glared at me. "You don't need to go hunting. We don't hunt anyway. I know all you do when you're out there is track the animals. Waste of time."

"You can come with me," I offered.

My sister snorted. "Sure I will."

I shrugged. It was true, what Addie said about the hunting. Our family doesn't hunt. _Why should we kill others for food when we can live off of other things? _Mother asked. _Why should we take a life just so we can eat meat when we have other things to eat as well?_ The closest I'd ever gotten to hunting was fishing.

Addie came out of the house and stood in the doorway, frowning. "If you're going out, you might as well get me some stuff. I need more plants, to help with Seda's rash."

"I'll get it." I picked up a cloak. It might be spring, but spring in the woods can still be chilly.

"Don't stay out so late!" Addie shouted as I walked away. "Last time you stayed out overnight and everyone was worried!"

"Last time I got Mother's permission," I shouted back. "You would have known if you'd asked her!"

Addie didn't bother to answer me, but I hadn't expected an answer anyway. I moved down the curving trail that led through the small clusters of houses, all the way to the edge of the tiny village.

"Della," someone called.

I turned. A girl came towards me, her long dark hair pulled back into a braid that whipped across her shoulders as she ran. I smiled when she caught up with me.

"Raine," I said.

"Hey." Raine fell in step beside me. Our village being as small as it was, Raine was the only girl that was my age exactly. We were close, but then again, everyone in the village was close. The village was too small to allow for any grudges. Everyone depended on everyone else.

"Are you going out?" Raine asked. I nodded, and she smiled, twirling a spear in her hand. "I'll come with you."

Out of all the people in the village, Raine was the only one who shared my love for weapons. I always saw a kind of beauty in the spinning edge of a lethal blade – the way the blade was so balanced, so deadly. Weapons never let you down. You trained with them, you worked with them and in the end, they always struck true.

Raine was competent with most weapons, but she was really skilled with the spear. I could never be comfortable with something so long, but Raine knew how to manage it.  
The forest was quiet today, a peaceful quiet. Fresh, green buds still wet with dew clung to the previously bare branches. I walked silently, passing from tree to tree, Raine some distance away. The ground was soft. The air smelled fresh and sweet. Not far away, a rabbit nibbled at something.

I bent down to gather one of the plants Addie needed. Raine stepped beside me. "Let's go to the valley," she said.

I knew what she was talking about. A long time ago, when we were very little, we used to explore the forest by ourselves. We found a valley one day, and we never told anyone about it. It was our secret. As we grew older, we knew, instinctively, that the other villagers more than likely knew about the valley too. But still, we never spoke of it to anyone else. It was something that we shared, a scrap of our childhood that could never be taken away from us. Something that we both wanted to keep to ourselves.

The valley was our secret. It wouldn't have mattered if the rest of the world knew about it. On the other hand, it would have mattered if one of us told the rest of the world about it.

xXx

Raine and I didn't get back to the village until after the sun set. The stars were out by the time we stepped through the wooden posts that marked the edge of the village. Almost instantly, I realized something was wrong.

The village was quiet. Not silent, but too quiet. Usually at this time of the day, most of the villagers would be outside looking at the stars, the older children pointing out constellations to the younger ones. But now…

"Something's wrong," Raine whispered, gripping my arm. She gazed ahead in the darkness.

I went to the nearest house and knocked on the door. A woman pulled it open.

"Della!" she said. "Raine!"

"What's going on?" I asked.

The woman glanced warily left and right before stepping outside and closing the door behind her. "Soldiers," she said in a low voice. "They rode in about half and hour ago."

Raine tensed beside me.

"I don't know what's going on," the woman said. She shrugged. "I don't know what they're here for. Probably to make sure we're still loyal to the queen."

Raine and I looked at each other.

"They went up to your house, Della," the woman murmured.

I glanced at the woman. "Don't worry," I said. "They'll probably be gone by dawn."

The woman nodded at me. I tilted my head up to look at the stars, listening. The quietness made me uneasy.

"Let's go," Raine said, starting to run. I hurried after her.

* * *

- _Beast_

Shadows danced on the wall. The room was crowded with people, but no one spoke. All eyes were on an older woman in the far corner, bent over a young man. The woman had black hair drawn back into a tight bun. Her face was serious, her eyes narrowed with concentration. The man lay on a cot, his face shiny with sweat.

He gasped as the woman touched his shoulder gently, his whole body tensing. His eyes were wide and clouded with pain. One of the men standing in the room made a sudden, impulsive movement.

I stood alone near the door, my eyes on the woman as she murmured to the injured man. After a moment, she stood wearily. Her face was lined from weariness. Her normally hard eyes echoed loss.

"I can't do anything," she said.

There was no sound. Finally, one of the men spoke. "There has to be something," he said, his voice hoarse and tinged with desperation. "You've healed hundreds with worse wounds than this, Jonsha. You can think of something to save Ramon!"

The woman shook her head. "The wounds, Jack" she said tiredly. "They're so deep…I can't do it."

Her words were met with silence.

Jack stared at Jonsha, his mouth moving soundlessly. I stood still, my face emotionless. These people were cringing away from death. They knew nothing about loss.

With a sudden growl of rage, Jack flung a knife at the ground. He looked up, his eyes burning. "We'll make them pay," he said huskily. "We'll make the queen and her soldiers pay for this!"

I leaned against the wall. Queen Lydia was a bold ruler. She wasn't outright cruel, but she treated her subjects like they were nothing. She simply didn't care. Her soldiers rode around the kingdom, reveling in their superior ranks. They were the ones that had slashed Ramon across the chest when he'd refused to give up his seat in a local tavern…

"Foolish," I said. Jack turned to me, his eyes burning with anger. "Ramon should have moved when the captain asked him to. He brought this on himself." It was the truth. Life was simple, if you looked at it – cause and effect was all there was to it.

"You –" Jack growled.

"That's enough!" Jonsha said sharply. She frowned at me, the lines around her eyes deepening. I made no movement as Jack clenched his fists.

"The queen and her soldiers are getting above themselves," Jonsha said. "Perhaps Ramon should have moved, but the soldier should never have pulled out his sword. Killing someone is no exchange for getting a seat in a tavern."

She was remarking on the unfairness of their treatment. Foolish, they all were. There was nothing to life but staying alive, and in order to do that, you had to give up certain things. Being treated like dirt was the exchange you got for staying alive.

"I won't stand for it," Jack said. His eyes bore into mine. "You, Karch, you're always so cold and calm…you couldn't care less, could you? You could stand there and be treated like scum, and it wouldn't bother you…"

Insults. My lip curled. Jack couldn't call me vile names or tell me what he really thought of me – not while Jonsha was here. But he could say things that had the undertone of malice.

"Stop it," Jonsha snapped. "Jack, in all my years that I've known you, I've never heard you speak like that. You men are acting like children. If you want to get revenge for Ramon, you will stop fighting among yourselves."

There was a brief silence. Jack looked at me, his eyes narrowed with anger. "I'll have the queen and her soldiers pay for what they've done," Jack said quietly. "Ramon was my brother, and I'll have my revenge on the captain that killed him."

I held Jack's gaze emotionlessly. Ramon was dead. Gone. There was no point in doing anything else. Whatever Jack did would only bring misery on his family and himself. Not to mention our town of Kirmaye.

I shrugged. "Do what you wish," I said, turned to open the door. The entire room stood silent and watched as I stepped outside.

xXx

Kirmaye was not a huge town, but it was fairly large. Now, at dusk, it was bustling with people. Dust rose in the roads as people and horses tramped by. To the west, the sky was stained pink and blue. Vendors called out to each other, dogs barked, and children cried. Many villagers stood in their open doorways, smoking or exchanging the latest gossip.

I headed silently down the road, leaving the lonely hut Jonsha and the others were in behind me. Smoke curled out of several chimneys. The people I passed avoided me eyes.

I could sense the soldier behind me even before he reached out and gripped my shoulder. I stopped walking, but did not turn around. Foolish though Ramon had been not to move when the captain ordered him to, I knew the captain had gone to extremes to draw his sword on him. Had I been closer, I might have even blocked his blow. I'd never liked Ramon, but I hated the soldiers. They gathered in groups at street corners, grinning as they watched women and children walk by with their heads down. They walked through the streets as if they owned Kirmaye themselves.

"So that man," the soldier said in a low voice, "that man in the tavern who disobeyed my order to give me his seat. Tell me – did he live?"

I clenched my teeth. "What do you want with him?"

The soldier laughed unpleasantly. "Nothing. But I'd like to know what happened to him. I saw you help carry him out."

"If you want to know how he is, call on him yourself." I wasn't about to give this soldier the satisfaction of knowing Ramon was dead. Or dying, anyway.

The soldier grunted. "Careful," he warned. "You look like a clever fellow. I don't think you want to be earning the same fate, do you?"

I shrugged his hand off my shoulder and began to walk again.

"Tell your friends!" the captain called after me. "Tell them what happened to your friend! That's what happens when you disrespect one of the Her Majesty's soldiers!"

I ignored him. People all around me had stopped and were either watching me or glaring at the captain.

The captain began to laugh. "You're worthless scum, all of you," he said. He turned to walk away.

Out of the corner of my eyes, I watched as one of the villagers suddenly lunged towards the captain. In a swift, unbroken movement, I reached out and grabbed the man's wrist. "Foolishness," I said coldly. "That's what got Ramon killed."

The man jerked his wrist out of my grasp. He glared at me. "You're no better than them soldiers," he said, and spat at my feet.

I watched him emotionlessly. They were so stupid. Long ago I had learned the lesson they never managed to get through their skulls – never rise to bait unless you can counter it. Ramon thought he could take on one of the queen's soldiers. He was wrong.

These people refused to stand for unfair treatment. They refused to let the soldiers kick them around. But they didn't understand that letting their anger control them was only going to make things worse.

It was a harsh world under the queen's rule. But if you followed the right rules, you would survive.

* * *

So whadya think? REVIEW...


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks to all my reviewers, especially Nixiesocean and FaylinnNorse who both reviewed for both versions of chapter 2. Also thanks to Scoutcraft Piratess who's reviewed on all of my stories. Thanks so, so much, guys!

So here's Chapter 3. It's a bit shorter then I like, but I decided to keep it anyway. Review!

Disclaimer: I don't own fairy tales.

Claimer: This story is mine, mine, mine.

* * *

_- Beast_

"What do you mean?" I stared uncomprehendingly at Jonsha, knowing I must have heard wrong. Surely they had more sense than to try something as rash as this.

Jonsha was grounding some plants in a bowl. "An attack at the Bear House," she said without looking up. "At midnight."

"The Bear House?" I was playing stupid, and Jonsha could tell. But what was I supposed to do? There was no way I was taking part in this raid. "But…isn't that where the soldiers have been staying?"

Jonsha stood up, sweeping some plant stems into her palm. "Jack's furious about Ramon. The people in Kirmaye are sick of the soldiers. I'm surprised they haven't tried an attack like this earlier."

"No way." I shook my head. "They're out of their minds. There's no way something like this…"

"The soldiers are used to submissive villagers," Jonsha continued. "They won't be expecting something like this."

I snorted. "And the villagers actually think…"

Jonsha looked at me steadily. "Not everyone's as calm and collected as you, Karch," she said. "The people are fed up with it. They won't stand for more."

I was disgusted. Who was as stupid as this? Maybe the soldiers had brainwashed everyone. Despite of myself, I couldn't keep the sarcasm from entering my voice. "So they're going to attack the Bear House, where the soldiers are staying."

"Yes."

I stared. That was it? The end? Did they really think they could just raid the soldiers' inn, give them a taste of their own medicine, and then everything would be fine again?

"Jack asked for your help," Jonsha said.

I laughed. I couldn't help it. Jack hated me, and I hated him back. We'd loathed each other since we were children.

Jonsha raised an eyebrow. "You think I'd joke about something like this?"

"I think you're all out of your minds. If Jack's desperate enough to ask for my help –"

"He's not asking because he's desperate," Jonsha said calmly. "He's asking you to be a part of this attack because he thinks that even though you may hate him, you still have some loyalty to the town of Kirmaye itself. He's giving you a chance to prove that you're part of this town."

"I don't need his sympathy," I said coldly. "I –"

"Karch."

I stopped talking, my face blank.

"Would you stand by and watch dozens of people meet their deaths without lifting a finger?"

My voice was flat. "If they meet their deaths doing something as stupid and thoughtless as this, then yes."

Jonsha turned away to poke at the fire. When she turned back to face me again, her face was partly in shadow. "Do what you wish," she said lightly.

I said nothing.

* * *

_- Beauty_

When mother died, our village changed.

We were always a small village, which meant everyone relied on everyone else. We were all a part of each other, something no other village had. We were family.

That's what made our village different from all the other towns. It wasn't just that our village so small either, it was the fact that while the other towns traded with each other and kept in contact with the rest of the kingdom, we were different. We were separate. We'd always survived in the shadow of the wilderness. We'd lived and bonded with our home and each other. There was no you and me. It was always us and we.

Mother's death changed things.

At first, the change came so slowly that none of us realized it. Our village got quieter and we grew closer to each other. We guarded ourselves. We became more determined to survive, and to protect what was important to us.

There was still laughter and happiness, but there was more caring and shielding of our village from the outside. We grew protective of the forest we lived in, worried that the piece of wilderness untouched by humans would someday be destroyed. Fearful that we would be crushed beneath our own kingdom's power. Afraid that we wouldn't be able to survive.

xXx

Raine stood near the door, arms crossed, not bothering to disguise the hostile look on her face. She eyed the soldiers with dislike. The soldiers were spread out around the room, looking at the shelves and walls and tables. Addie stood a little off to the side, her hands clasped.

My eyes were on the commander of the soldiers as he stood in the center of the room, hands in his pockets, surveying everything as if he owned it. I was nervous, though I didn't show it. I couldn't help but remember the last time an outsider came to our village.

"We're looking for someone," the commander said at last, after his soldiers had looked over every inch of the room.

Addie raised her gaze. "Someone from our village?"

The commander shrugged. "The one we're looking for could be anywhere. From what we've been told, he came from somewhere around here. Our job is to find him."

I closed my eyes, pushing back my memories. Somewhere in the back of my mind, voices from the past were speaking.

"_We're looking for an opportunity. A chance to get a better life."_

Addie's voice projected through my thoughts. "You think the person you're looking for is here?"

I stared at the ground. Mother's voice spoke in my head. _"You think the life you have isn't good enough?"_

"If you hear any news of him, we'd appreciate it if you'd let us know," the commander was saying.

"What's his name?" This time, it was Raine who spoke.

There was a pause. I looked up at the soldiers, but saw Mother instead. I saw her leaning on the table, watching the man across from her. I saw the man's smile widen.

"_There's always room for improvement. And besides, we never think what we have is enough."_

"Karch," the commander said. "His name is Karch."

* * *

_- Beast_

We kept to the shadows as we crept along the wall, Jack leading the way. I followed at the very end, silent and wary. I didn't unsheathe my sword because I knew the tiniest ray of light could reflect off the blade and give us away, but I kept my hand near its hilt.

This was truly the most illogical thing I'd ever done and probably ever would do. I would get out of here alive, but I would never agree to do something like this again. These men were out of their minds. Attacking soldiers, even in the dead of the night, was suicide.

Not to mention the angry inn owners they'd be facing if any of them managed to live past tonight. I doubted the soldiers would have any mercy for foolish townspeople that dared to attack them.

The lights were all off inside the inn. We lined up along the wall. I glanced toward the second floor. No sign of movement.

The plan was to surround the place and barge into the inn all at once. It would have been an acceptable plan if the inn was a fortress we were setting out to capture, but otherwise, it was the completely irrational. We needed to get in and get out fast, without being captured or recognized. Surrounding the place…I snorted. Which genius had thought this up? What we needed was a different kind of plan – a plan of escape, not a plan of attack. Getting in was no problem. The key was getting out.

But it was Jack's plan, and they all listened to Jack.

We waited. I stared at the inn, a hulking black shape in the darkness. I wondered if of the townspeople were starting to regret that they'd decided to do this. No matter, they wouldn't be able to back out now. That was why you always thought first, and acted second. Not the other way around.

Jack raised one arm, and everyone readied themselves. I looked up at the sky. It was a cloudy night. Unfortunately, by now, most of the soldiers knew their way around Kirmaye nearly as well as the townspeople. The cloud cover wouldn't help much if the soldiers decided to chase me.

Jack clenched his hand into a fist. Everyone took out their weapons. I unsheathed my sword.

Then Jack brought his arm down in a slashing movement. Everyone leaped forward.

* * *

Um...sorry if the Beauty PoV was a bit confusing. The italics are flashbacks. If you go back and only read the italics, and then only read the stuff that's not in italics, it might make more sense.

Tell me what you think!


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